Telecommuncations giant Qualcomm is working with a Southern California health system to bring digital health advances to patients.
A $3.75-million grant from the Qualcomm Life Foundation will help Scripps Health study how a mobile software platform for patient monitoring developed by AirStrip Technologies (San Antonio) affects factors such as clinical decision making and the length of hospital...

Happtique Lets Doctors Prescribe Apps
Happtique, a mobile health app store aimed at healthcare professionals, will launch a trial of mRx, which it touts as the first program to enable physicians to prescribe mHealth apps to patients.
Happtique officials say more physician-to-patient services will improve compliance and health outcomes, and that Happtique's patent-pending technology will...

Why There Hasn't Been a Homerun mHealth App
The mobile health movement has generated huge buzz over the last several years with its promise of bringing better, more personalized care at a cheaper cost to a wider number of engaged consumers. So it’s only natural to wonder if and when mHealth will give birth to its own Instagram. It hasn’t happened yet but it’s “a...

MD+DI Announces MDEA Finalists
Sponsored by MD+DI and organized by UBM Canon, the Medical Design Excellence Awards (MDEA) competition is the premier awards program for the medical technology community, recognizing the achievements of medical product manufacturers and the many people behind the scenes—engineers, scientists, designers, and clinicians—who are...

Smartphones present a huge opportunity for medical electronics designers, but they also pose challenges for the medical electronics industry. That will be the subject of an AdvaMed webinar sponsored by set to take place later this month.
By ALT1040 from Blogosfera (Cropped by uploader from This is madness! (pt. 2)) [CC-BY-SA-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Designers can tap into a huge...

iPad 3 Hits Stores
The third iteration of the iPad went on sale Friday morning in the US, greeted by the usual throngs of early adopters...at the company’s flagship 5th Ave. store — ground zero in New York — hundreds lined up for the new iPad, which reviewers have said introduces some powerful new processor and graphics features but lacks the “wow” factor of the...

iPad 3 Features Better Bluetooth
Along with the announcement of Apple's third-generation iPad on March 7, the tablet is getting a wireless upgrade with Bluetooth 4.0 Smart Ready connectivity. The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) announced the availability of Smart Ready technology for the new version of the Apple tablet, bringing new possibilities for remote-monitoring medical applications...

AT&T leverages the cloud to encourage development of connected apps, a new asthma device will leverage Qualcomm's 2net hub, and a microchip for drug delivery will be put to the test in a clinical trial.
AT&T Launches Cloud-Based Developer Center to Encourage Connected Healthcare Apps
AT&T has launched a beta version of the AT&T Developer Center ForHealth, a cloud-based platform...

A new Google-branded hardware device for home entertainment will connect to other home electronics. Might they include medical devices? Also, Verizon joins with Health Evolution Partners.
Google Entertainment Device Will Connect to Other Home Electronics
The entertainment device will be designed first for streaming music via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and to connect to other home...

This week, FCC grants spectrum space to devices that help patients with paralysis, and the federal government agrees to fund telehealth in the Mississippi Delta.
Medical Devices That Help Paralyzed Move Will Get Radio Spectrum (Bloomberg BusinessWeek)
USDA Awards $6 Million for Rural Telehealth (Information Week)
Competition to Heat Up in the Telehealth Market (ECN)
9 Mobile Health...

This week in electronics news, we take a look at the Olympus scandal and what it might mean for the company's endoscopy business. Plus, a theoretical physicist weighs in on the future of healthcare.
Olympus Medical Business Too Big to Fail (Reuters)
Olympus Medical Business Could Attract Bidders (Market Watch)
Theoretical Physicist Michio Kaku Predicts the Future of Healthcare (MD+DI)
CMIOs,...

For medical device designers who dream of seeing their devices among the sleek gadgets on Apple Store shelves, MIT's Technology Review has put together a how-to guide to get them there.
The first step, of course, is to obtain FDA clearance, but it doesn't stop there. Designers also have to apply to the company's MFi licensing program, submit a prototype, and sign a nondisclosure agreement....

Anytime FDA starts proposing new regulations for medical devices, designers understandably get wary. But according to experts, the administration’s proposed regulations for medical mobile apps might result in more clarity than confusion.
According to the draft guidance issued last week, FDA is proposing to regulate apps that “are used as an accessory to a medical device already...

Anytime FDA starts proposing new regulations for medical devices, designers understandably get wary. But according to experts, the administration’s proposed regulations for medical mobile apps might result in more clarity than confusion.
According to the draft guidance issued last week, FDA is proposing to regulate apps that “are used as an accessory to a medical device already...

As promised, FDA has issued draft guidance laying out plans for the oversight of mobile applications used for medical or healthcare purposes.
In a press release dated July 19, the administration explained that the proposed guidelines will only impact applications that “are used as an accessory to a medical device already regulated by the FDA” or “transform a mobile...

The iPad has been a hot topic on MED lately. Doctors love it, and device makers are starting to pay attention. Houston Neal, with Software Advice, a company that helps businesses find software to fit their needs, has more on how the iPad is impacting EHRs. —Jamie Hartford
From Neal:
The iPad is becoming a popular hardware device in the healthcare industry. Research has shown that...